At NIU he also appeared in several independent films, including At the Still Point, for which he received the Golden Reel Award for Best Actor at its 2005 Film Festival. He also appeared in "Gotham III" in 2004 and used his speed-skating skills to land a role in the 2004 roller derby comedy Roll Bounce.

On February 1, 2010, Mentell died in a car crash near Hollandale, Wisconsin. According to the Iowa County Sheriff's Department, Mentell was pronounced dead at the scene around 9 a.m. The accident was said to have taken place around 3:30 a.m. after his 2005 Jeep left the roadway on Highway 39, went down an embankment and struck two trees.[1] One unconfirmed possibility is that he had fallen asleep at the wheel,[4] though his Jeep was not discovered until later in the day by a passing farmer who alerted authorities. He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle.[5][6]